Waiting
by FandomChaser
Summary: What happened over the years while Merlin was waiting for Arthur to return? Starts after Arthur died and goes until present day. Some chapters will be longer than others. DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin.
1. The End is the Beginning

((A.N. Ok, so some of these will be drabbles, some will be longer. I'm a history nut so most of my stories will be in some kind of historical context, but I don't know that much about the Medieval period. As we get further along in history, the chapters will get longer. I will try to update every week or as often as I can. Leave me a review so I'll be able to improve on anything. Pretty please and thanks, guys! ))

It had been a long time. Too long. Okay, it had been ten years, but it felt like it had been only yesterday when Merlin saw Arthur stabbed by the traitor Mordred. Without the help of her husband or the backing of many of the knights, Gwenevere had not been able to keep the throne of Camelot for long, and the city fell. The next king had taken over in her stead, a man called Ida. He seemed like a sensible man and would be a good king, although he wasn't particularly friendly towards magic users. He didn't seek out to eradicate magic as Uther had, but he wouldn't have a Court Sorcerer or let any Druids come into his kingdom. Perhaps it would be better for Emrys to travel on with his people for now instead of stay in a place where he wasn't wanted.


	2. Give Us Tipperary!

((I've decided to skip around in history so we can get to the parts I know more about quicker. Thanks to Jlynng96 for following this! I was about to take it down because I didn't think it was very good, but then I saw that :) I'll try to make the updates a bit longer and (hopefully) better so that people might review... *wink wink* *hint hint* **Edit: I've tried to fix the formatting, is this any better?**))

Christmas Eve, 1914

It had been a miserable five months. Merlin-or Colin, now- had been drafted into the war when it had broken out in July, and it was a wonder among his trench as to how he had survived that long. Some of his soldiers said that he was invincible, that the Germans' bullets bounced off of him, after an incident where a regiment of Germans had sneaked over in the night and tried to shoot the soldiers. He had stood in their way, using his magic to reflect their bullets back at them. Others said that he had made a deal with the devil, so he couldn't be killed by anyone apart from the Prince of Darkness himself. Of course, Merlin had denied everything, but the rumor mill continued to turn. What else was there to do in a trench apart from make up stories? Just as his watch was ending, snatches of song were carried on the wind between the trenches. What was going on? If he didn't know better, he would have thought whoever was singing was singing 'O Christmas Tree'.  
"Who is singing?" he called out cautiously, expecting to hear one of his men to confess to the tune. What happened was the exact opposite. The song seemed to become louder, and through the snow Merlin saw the outline of a man walking across No Man's Land. Immediately, he started giving orders to the others, that they should get ready for an attack, but not fire until he said so. The outline became clearer, until a young man was standing not ten yards away.  
"State your business. What do you want?" Merlin asked, climbing out of the trench to face the man on a level ground.  
"We wish to propose an armistice for the holiday. We don't want to fight on Christmas." the man replied in a heavy German accent. Merlin looked at the man in disbelief.  
"What?" he asked, a little confused. They had been told that the Germans were determined to win the war at any cost.  
"What is it, sir?" Adam, one of the soldiers in his unit, asked. He had always been a curious one. Keeping one eye on the German, Merlin turned slightly away.  
"He's proposing a ceasefire over the holiday. He says they don't want to fight on Christmas."  
Another man, Dean, piped up, saying "I don't want to fight on Christmas either. Maybe we should accept." This was generally agreed upon, and Merlin nodded.  
"We don't want to fight either. If you don't shoot, we won't either." The German smiled and held out a hand to shake.  
"Then for tonight and tomorrow at least, we shall be friends. My name is Gilbert, from Prussia. What is your name?" he asked as Merlin took it.  
"Colin, from Kent. Happy Christmas!" he said, glad that peace had broken out.  
They traded the desserts from their mess tins, traded chocolate for cigarettes, and even played a game of football in No-Man's Land, although the Germans won. There was singing, laughing, and a bit of dancing courtesy of a small wagon normally used to hold machine guns with barrels of beer piled high. Two of the Germans even sang 'God Save the King', after which a very drunk Dean and Adam sang 'A Long Way To Tipperary', which the Germans had requested. They agreed not to start shooting again until Midnight, and spent Christmas Day happily exchanging stories and sharing a meal of chicken brought in from the surrounding areas. It was as fine a Christmas between enemies as one could wish for. Of course, it couldn't last. Midnight came and went, and the last stragglers disappeared back into their respective trenches. A shot was fired into the air on the German's side, and the war was on again.


End file.
